I worked all my life - seriously, from age five - to become a musician. I love my children but not playing has never been an option for me. It’s part of my soul.

Anonymous wrote:Because my mom was a SAHM and I saw how that went.

Because my mom (and grandmother) were SAHMs when their kids were little, but were much happier when they worked and would have preferred to have the infrastructure and ability to go back to work earlier.

It never once occurred to me not to. I’ve always worked from home in a creative field and have a fantastic nanny with her degree in Early Childhood Education. Nanny is better at the arts and crafts, teaching, running playgroups, teaching music and French, than I could ever be. And I got to breastfeed my kids for as long as they wanted. DH is a great dad and an equal partner in everything.

It would be a detriment to my children if I quit my career.

Money….I make about half of the HHI (under $150 K).

If I didn't work, we'd be up s%&*s creek big time! I don't have a partner and my ex only pays child support "when I can." We would be homeless and living in shelters or on the street. What a strange question.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like working and honestly to me being at home with my kid all day isn’t appealing. And I believe that the socialization at daycare is important.

Sure you do.

It's extra true if you have an only child. Don't judge. Everyone needs to do what is right for them. Plain and simple.

Money?

I thought it was worthwhile to make $450K a year, both financially and because I have an interesting, challenging job with colleagues that I love - and I am still early in my earning potential.

I think I could have been happy staying home for a few years with each kid. If I’m honest I think it’s ideal to be home for a year; I really wish we had better maternity leave in the US. My husband was very against me staying home because he felt his mom was very controlling and didn’t have her own life outside of her kids. My mom stayed home for A while and then went back to work when we were all in school. I think that’s ideal but I didn’t go into a great field for taking 5+ years out. So I took as long of maternity leaves as I could (mostly without pay) and then cut back at work as much as I could. I work pretty close to the exact school hours now that I don’t commute. Which is great aside from the fact that my favorite thing about working was having intellectually stimulating conversations with my awesome coworkers and that really doesn’t happen anymore. I’m not good at zoom. I will stick it out for the great schedule a while longer though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you decide to keep working after having your baby(ies)? What made you decide to continue to work? Was it a financial decision?

I am your baby’s heart surgeon. Do you really want me to quit my job?

My baby doesn't need a heart surgeon. But if she ever did, I'd worry about one who has nothing better to do than crow about herself on an anonymous mommy website.

My niece did! I am forever grateful her heart surgeon didn’t stay at home!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you decide to keep working after having your baby(ies)? What made you decide to continue to work? Was it a financial decision?

I am your baby’s heart surgeon. Do you really want me to quit my job?

My baby doesn't need a heart surgeon. But if she ever did, I'd worry about one who has nothing better to do than crow about herself on an anonymous mommy website.

Your baby will. Or another specialist. Or another professional working mother. Just look around - you need women/mothers in the workforce for your child.

And never refer to yourself as “mommy”.

Anonymous wrote:Why did you decide to keep working after having your baby(ies)? What made you decide to continue to work? Was it a financial decision?

I never intended to stay home past the first year (I took a sabbatical). I spent my life working hard to get my JD/PhD and I want my DD to be proud of me and the work I do for our country and the world (United Nations).

I need more structure, adult interaction and feeling like I’m accomplishing something outside of my immediate surroundings. I’m terrible at and despise cleaning and organizing so my house would always be a mess. I’ve been a teacher before and while I love being with kids, I see the value in also giving them space and opportunities to grow outside of the home. If I was a SAHM, I’d want a house cleaner x2 a week and part-time daycare for my kids so I could volunteer or do something beyond taking care of household responsibilities. But I wish we had 6 months to a year in maternity leave. I could stay home for a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you decide to keep working after having your baby(ies)? What made you decide to continue to work? Was it a financial decision?

I am your baby’s heart surgeon. Do you really want me to quit my job?

My baby doesn't need a heart surgeon. But if she ever did, I'd worry about one who has nothing better to do than crow about herself on an anonymous mommy website.

I am not the primary earner, but WOH PT 3d/wk. I could certainly stay home, and my job can get stressful, but it’s meaningful, interesting and I am well compensated. I also feel like you never know when/how your circumstances might change, and it’s important to me to know that I could seamlessly step up and support our family financially if necessary.